1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid-crystal display element suitable for a thin display having a pair of thin glass substrates, and to a method for manufacturing such a liquid-crystal display element.
2. Description about the Related Art
In liquid-crystal display elements used in displays for notebook personal computers and portable information terminals, in order to achieve a thin and light design, one essential element is to make the thickness of the pair of glass substrates of the liquid-crystal display element thin.
In order to make the thickness of the pair of glass substrates thin, as disclosed, for example, in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 5-61011, a liquid-crystal display element is formed by the process illustrated in FIG. 6.
Specifically, after affixing together an array substrate 10 and an opposing substrate 11, which are the pair of glass substrates, at least one of the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11 is polished (steps 501 and 502). Next, after cutting the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11, a liquid crystal is injected between the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11. The resulting structure is sealed, and a polarizer is affixed thereto (steps 503 to 506).
The grain diameter used as a polishing material for polishing at least one of the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11 is approximately 1 to 2 μM.
For this reason, the polishing material intruded into the space (5 to 6 μm) between the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11, thereby causing failures due to this foreign matter, which lowers the display quality and yield of the liquid-crystal display elements.
Given the above, in order to solve the above-noted problem, in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (KOKAI) Nos. 5-249422, 5-249423, and 4-116619, for example, the is disclosure of technology wherein, as shown in FIG. 7, when adhering together the array substrate and the opposing substrate, the liquid crystal injection region of the liquid-crystal display element area is surrounded by a seal 12, and further wherein the entire liquid-crystal display element area is surrounded by an outer peripheral seal 18, after which the hole is sealed by a hole sealant 20.
In this type of technology, because the overall liquid-crystal display element area is surrounded by an outer peripheral seal 18, in the above-noted case of performing polishing, intrusion of foreign matter into the space (5 to 6 μm) between the array substrate 10 and the opposing substrate 11 is prevented.
In the above-noted technology, however, in a method of surrounding the overall liquid-crystal display element area with the outer peripheral seal 18, when cutting apart the individual liquid-crystal display elements the outer peripheral shield 18 is also cut.
For this reason, because the stress on the pair of glass substrates is different between a part at which the outer peripheral seal 18 is cut and a part at which the outer peripheral seal 18 is not cut, improper cutting results when scribing and breaking the substrates.
When the above-noted types of problems occur, polishing material intrudes between the space between the outer peripheral seal 18 and the pair of glass substrates, thereby contaminating the manufacturing apparatus.
If the manufacturing apparatus becomes contaminated in this manner, polishing material can intrude into the liquid-crystal display element when the liquid crystal is injected, leading to improper liquid crystal orientation and faulty operation, such as the proper voltage not being applied across the liquid crystal, thereby causing a display failure and a drop in yield.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention, in consideration of the above-noted problems, to provide a liquid-crystal display element and a method for manufacturing a liquid-crystal display element wherein the achievement of thinness is facilitated and it is possible to achieve an improvement in yield and quality.